SOLE-MATE STORAGE

Shoe clutter have you feeling de-feeted? Put your foot down and tame the mess with this attractive shoe storage cabinet.

- VINCE ANCONA,JOHN OLSON

If you’ve been putting off organizing the pile of shoes next to the front door or on the bedroom floor, here’s a chance to stop being a loafer and pull yourself up by your bootstraps. Three graduated rows of cubbies store various sizes of footwear. And a pair of drawers hide socks, gloves, hats, keys, or a dog leash.

A tablesaw, planer, router, and drill are the main tools you’ll need to build this project. Solid wood panels glued up and trimmed to size make up the major components of the case. Shallow dadoes, all made with a router and a simple jig, lock the parts together and aid with alignment during glue-up.

START WITH A SIDE STEP

1 Edge-glue blanks for the sides (A), top (B), drawer shelf (C), shoe shelves (D), and bottom (E) [Exploded View, Parts List], making them all slightly oversize in both width and length. While you’re at it, edge-glue additional material for one 12×30" blank and two 12×26" blanks for the vertical dividers (F-I). Plane all the blanks to a consistent ¾" thickness. Trim the sides (A), top (B), drawer shelf (C), shoe shelves (D), and bottom (E) to final size. Set the vertical divider blanks aside for now.

2 Lay out the foot profile on one end of each side (A) [Drawing 1]. Using a 1" Forstner bit, drill holes in the corners of the waste areas, then cut away the waste with a jigsaw or bandsaw to create the feet. Round the top, front corner of each side. Sand the edges smooth.

3 Lay out the stopped dadoes on the case sides [Drawing 1], ensuring you have a left and right side.